Let me see, Patriots went 12-4, Made the playoffs but lost. So for a season or 2 the Patriots are not an elite team. There are plenty of teams that would love to be in our position. Since Deflategate the Patriots have been on a run and it's hard to maintain that level of excellence.

So for another year, some fans and media will declare the end of the dynasty. Heck, we didn't even make the playoffs twice in the first decade of the dynasty. The second decade we were even better. Who knows what the 3rd decade will bring.

Other then the RB's, that left only Edelman and Dorsett leftover from last year. The offense was lacking weapons this year and it showed. Not the greatest job by BB in replacing the missing pieces. When you are on the one yard line with first down and goal to go and you can't get into the end zone, you know this is not a championship team.

I am looking forward to next year regardless of what happens with Brady.

I'd never root for my team to fall off of its spot as the best team in the league but at the same time I've been trying to find the silver lining in this grey cloud and shedding all the bandwagon fans and not being constantly under the microscope will be just that.

I'm so ****ing over a regular season game against my team being every other team's SB.

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There was a lull from 2011-2016’ish where we didn’t deal with a regular season super bowl every game, but after the recent success with the wins in 2014, 2016, and then 2018, we’re back to getting every team’s best shot. Hard to match that intensity every week.

fnordcircleThe poster who James White said inspires him.PatsFans.com Supporter

There was a lull from 2011-2016’ish where we didn’t deal with a regular season super bowl every game, but after the recent success with the wins in 2014, 2016, and then 2018, we’re back to getting every team’s best shot. Hard to match that intensity every week.

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2012 we were still a big deal as we had just been in a SB we had just barely lost but we clearly still had a certain mystique.
2013 looked promising then fizzled out. The potential for not being every team's regular season highlight definitely seemed to be there.
2014 derailed all of that because we had the audacity to win the SB.
2015 we were so close, fantastic team that got screwed by injuries. People still hated us.
2016 proved there were no circumstances under which we could be counted out.

So no, I don't agree with your thesis. 2009 we weren't the team we were before. But 2010 looked like a slamdunk super bowl which is why the Jets victory against us was so bitter.

Fans and teams have had an eye on their games against us as a barometer of their team since 2003. I won't miss that. Well, I will but I won't.